Back in the seventies the CB500 was the bike that made the boss of Porsche sigh: "This will be the bike of the century." You know Porsche, don't you? Eventually it became the 750, but insiders and mechanics always have praised the 500 as a better design over the 750. It was imitated in detail by Benelli (500 Quattro). Do a Google picture search or have a look here
http://data.sohc4.net/AR500/CB500Benelli.pdf. It was told that when at that time Benelli hired a new boss (he came from either Lamborghini or De Tomaso, I always forget) to reform Benelli his first instruction was to make a copy of the CB500. So they did. Also the famous Benelli Sei (with six pipes) was nothing but 1.5 X CB500. Benelli, btw, was the first to acknowledge this. In those days BMW wanted to quit making motorcycles altogether but later changed it's mind. The British motorcycle industry was nearly dead.
Even the Chinese made a copycat. When? 1995!
1995! http://data.sohc4.net/AR500/cb500_copy.pdfThe CB500 was copied by Suzuki and Kawasaki who couldn't think of anything else than to offer 50cc more. The 500 Four is an icon and will be in the historybooks, next to the piramids. Am I biased after 33 years and a ton more? You bet I am. You can outrun a heavier bike of that period in the twisties. Personally I don't believe in bigger bikes. 99% of the time you ride them with the same output as a CB500. So most of the time you are overweight. Have a look at that recently posted video of someone enjoying his CB400
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=108226.0. For me that's what motorcycling is all about. Free, in the open, no fairings, no screens, nothing to distract you. I always get lots of energy from it. Í never ride two up. If I had to buy a new bike today, it would again between 400-650 cc, max. weight 200kgs.
